Suction nozzle



Vseptzv, 193s.

J. E. BARRNER SUCTION NOZZLE Filed Aug. 1, 193s IIIIIIIII f .gNVENTOR' 1 @.wy

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 27, 1938 sUc'rIoN NozzLE Jacob Eliel Barmer, Camden,v N. J., assig-Inor to Electrolux, Inc., New York, N. -Y a corporation of New York '11 Claims.

vide an elongated suction opening in order that as large a surface as possible may be covered by the vnozzle in 'a minimum length of operating time. The force of the suction is thus-distributed over a considerable space, but is nevertheless sufcient to pick up ordinary dirt on and in a surface undergoing cleaning, such as a rug. However, the force of this suction may not be sufcient to remove articles such as threads or the like which adhere strongly to the surface. Consequently, itis necessary topi'ovide a skrjnaller opening whereby a morev concentrated suction is obtainable in order to remove threads and the like from the surface.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a nozzle of this type having a valve for controlling ow ofI air through the nozzle openings, which valve may be shifted from one position to another by merely suddenly changing the speed of movement of the nozzle. The valve member has suicient weight so that its inertia causes it to change position under these conditions. Another object of my invention is to so arrange the valve that the difference in air pressures acting on one part of the valve tends to retain it in any given position, Wherefore it will' not be accidently shifted during normal manipulation of the nozzle. Still another object of my invention is to provide means for preventing the t) accumulation of the dirt around the valve, which would be apt to cause the valve to bind.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description considered in connection with the accom'- panying drawing which forms part of this specication, and of which2 Fig. l is a top view of a preferred embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;`

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig, 5 is a prospective view of a, valve member.

Referring to the gures'reference character I designates generally a hollow nozzle body formed with an elongated portion II which denes an elongated nozzle opening I2. The central part of body I0 is formed with an inclined passageway I3 with which nozzle opening I2 communicates through passage I4. A tubular elbow 'member hI 5 is rotatably secured to body I0 within passageway I3 in any suitable manner. As shown, member I is .provided with slots I6 adjacent its Application August 1,

1936, serial No. 93,754

inner end and a spring member I1 expands through these slots to engage av continuous circular groove I8 formed in the wall of passageway I3. The upper end of member I5 is adapted to be connected to a hollowrigid handle member (not shown) which serves to move the nozzle over a surface undergoing cleaning. The other end of the handle member may be connected by means of a ilexible hose with a vacuum cleaner unit including a dust separating member and a motor-fan unit for producing flow of air.

Secured to the under-side of body lbehind elongated portion II is a mouth-piece member I9 formed with a relative small suction opening 20. The lower face of member I9 may be formed with grooves 2| which extend from the outer edgesof the member to the central opening 20. Preferably, these grooves are generally tangential to the central opening as shown particularly in Fig. 2.l Member I9 may be secured to body Il) by means of screws 22 and when in place forms part of the body. v i Body I0 and member I9 together define a narrow elongated recess having branches substan tially at right angles to each other. Slidably disposed in this recess is a plate valve 23 having angularly disposed parts 24 and 25, formed with ports 26 and 21, respectively. It will be noted that these ports lie wholly on 'opposite sides of an imaginary plane extending at right.l angles to parts 24 and 25. Part 24- of the valve member is disposed in that portion of the aforementioned recess which intersects passage I4, whilepart is in that portion of the recess which intersects passage 28 connecting opening 20 withpassageway I3. -The lengthwise extent of the recess is greater than that of valve plate 23, whereby the valve plate is slidable therein in a direction parallel to the lengthwise extent of elongated portion II. i

Body I0 is formed withe an elongated portor slot 29 in the upper part thereof which communicates with one end of the'recess containing part 24 of the valve member. The valve member is provided with a projection 30 which extends through slot 29 and is consequently accessible from outside the nozzle. Designating marks, such as L and 5" may be placed adjacent opposite ends of slot 29 and serve to indicate the position of the valve member. Thus, when pro jection 30 is opposite L it indicates to the operator that the large .suction opening I2 is in communication with passageway I3, while projection 30 being opposite' S indicates that the small nozzle opening 20 is in operation. Projection 30 may also be used to shift the valve member, if desired, although as will later appear,

. other provision is made for moving the valve.

Body I0 is also provided with a port 3| located adjacent to the other end of the recess from port 29. In addition, ports 32 and-33 are provided for establishing communication between the atmosphere and the opposite ends of the part of the recess in which part 25 of the valve is positioned.

The operation of the above described device is as follows- With the valve member 23 in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, port 26 in part 24 of the valve is in alignment with passage I4 and hence communication is'established through this passage from large nozzle opening I2 to passageway I3,

on the other hand, is closed by the imperforate portion of part- 25 of the valve member. Consequently, air will be drawn into the nozzle through the entire extent of elongated opening I2 and when the nozzle is passed over a dusty surface, dust will be entrained with the air from that portion of the surface covered by the opening. In the normal operation of the nozzle, it is moved back and forth by means of the hollow handle in a direction substantially at right angles to the lengthwise extent of the elongated portion I l. Thus, the nozzle will clean a strip of the surface having a width equal to the elongated extent of opening I2 and a length equal to the stroke of the nozzle.

If, during cleaning, an object such as a thread or the like adheres to the surface to such an extent that it is rirpieked up by the airv flowing through the elongated opening I2, it is desirable to provide a more concentrated suction. This may be done by suddenly 'moving the nozzle body sideways in a direction substantially parallel to the lengthwise extent of elongated portion II. Valve member 23 is made to have sufficient weight so that its inertia causes it to lag behindjthe sideway movement of the rest of the nozzle. Thus, to shift to the valve from the position shown in Fig. 1 to a position where the projection 30 is in alignment with S, the body is suddenly moved to the right, as seen from the rear in this figure. The valve 23 lags behind and consequently moves to the left with respect to the rest of the nozzle. If desired, the movement of the valve from position L to S may be effected by moving the nozzle lbody comparatively slowly to the left, as seen from the rear in Fig. 1, and suddenly arresting this movement. In this case, the inertia of the valve member causes it to continue to travel after the body has been suddenly stopped.

With the valve member in the position with projection 30 in alignment with S, port 2'I in part,25 is in alignment with passage 28 connecting nozzle opening 20 with passageway I3. solid portion of part 24 prevents communication between passage Il and passageway I3, thus cutting oil flow of air through the large nozzle opening. Consequently, all of the flow takes place through the smallopening 20 which results in a concentrated flow of airwhich is able to remove threads and the like from the surface undergoing cleaning. II'he valve member 23 is moved back in the same manner as that above described, except that the direction of movement of the nozzle body is reversed.

It will be noted that the sudden movement of The' take place, it will have no -tendency to shift the valve member.

Accidently shifting of the valve member is further. prevented due to the force exerted on. the member by the atmosphere. With the valve in the position shown in Fi'g. 3, the imperforate portion of part 25 closes passage '28. Consequently, atmospheric pressure acts on the lower face of part 25 whilea reduced pressure acts on the upper face. The result is that the valve member is held against the wall of the recess Ain which it is disposed with such frictional force as to prevent unintended shifting of the valve. hand, this force is not suilcient to prevent shifting of the valve by a sudden movement of the nozzle body in the proper direction as above described. When the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 4, atmospheric pressure acts against the imperforate portion of part 24 to provide the force for giving 'the frictional engagement between the valve member and the wall of the recess in which it is mounted. v

In order to prevent theaccumulation of dirt between the-valve member and the walls of the recess, leakage ports4 29, 3|, 32 and 33 are provided. Clean atmospheric air ows through these ports into the recess where it travels past the valve member to passageway I3. This flow of air,

On the other l while very slight and not suicient to noticeably affect the suction produced at either opening I2 or 20, nevertheless, is suiiicient to immediately remove any particles of dirt which tend to collect in the recess. It is particularly important in a valve which is shiftable due toits inertia that'A its upper end to which the' hollow rigid handle is connected to extend substantially horizontally. Rotation of member I5 has no eiect -whatsoever on the flow of air through thenozzle openings I2 and 20.

Member I9 has been shown as a separate piece from body I0. The reason for this is that the removability of member I 9 makes it possible to insert valve member 23 during assembly of the nozzle. Otherwise, members I Il and I9 might be -be understood that this has been done for purposes of illustration only and does not constitute a limitation of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims viewed in the light of the prior art.

What I claim isz- 1. In a suction nozzle for cleaning a surface, a hollow body formed with a large nozzle opening and a small nozzle opening, said body being adapted tobe moved back and forth in a substantially straight line over a surface to be cleaned during normal cleaning operation, and valve structure including a member movable with respect to said body in a direction substantially at right angles to said line for closing either of said openings selectively, said member being constructed and arranged and having sufiicient weight so that due to its inertia the valve structure is movable relative to said body by suddenly changing the speed of movement of said body while the body is in contact with the surface.

2. In a suction nozzle'for cleaning a surface. a hollow body formed with a large nozzle opening and a small nozzle opening, said body being adapted to be moved back and forth in a substantially straight line over a surface to be cleaned during normal cleaning operation, and a valve member movable in a substantially straight line with respect to said body in a direction 'at an angle to the rst mentioned line for closing either of said openings selectively, said valve member having suicient weight so that due to its inertia the valve member is movable relative to said body by a sudden alteration in the speed of movement of said body in the direction of movement of Asaid valve member while the body is in contact with the surface. Y p

3. In a suction nozzle for cleaning a surface, a hollow body formed with an elongated nozzle opening and a small nozzle opening, a handle member extending substantially at right angles to the lengthwise extent of said elongated nozzle opening for moving said body back and forth over a surface to be cleaned in a direction substantially at right angles to said lengthwise extent, and a valve member movable in a straight line with respect to said body in a direction substantially parallel to said lengthwise extent for selectively closing either `of said openings, said valve member having sufcient inertia so that it is movable relative to said body by suddenly altering the speed of movement of said body in the direction of said lengthwise extent while the body is in contact with the surface.

` 4. In a suction nozzle, a hollow body formed with a large nozzle opening and a small nozzle opening, said body being formed with a passageway adapted to be connected to a source of suction and passages connecting said openings with said passageway, and a ported valve member slidable with respect to said body for selectively closing. either of said passages and opening the other passage, said valve member having sum'- cient weight so that due to its inertia the valve member is movable relative to said body by a sudden change in speed of movement of said body, the atmospheric pressure acting against the part of said valve member which is aligned with the closed passage forcing said valve member against said body to thereby increase the frictional resistance to movement of said valve member.

5. In a suction nozzle, a hollow body formed with a large nozzle opening and a small nozzle opening, said body being formed with a passageway adapted to be connected to a source of suction and passages connecting said openings with said passageway, the center lines of said passages being disposed at an angle to each other and substantially in a vertical center plane of said body, and a valve plate slidably mounted in said body and having two angularly disposed parts formed with ports, the port in one part being wholly to one side of the port in the other part, whereby said valve plate is slidable to align the port in one of said parts with one of said passages and to close the other passage with said other part and selectively to align the port in said other part with said other passage and tok close said one of said passages with said one of said parts.

, 6. In a suction nozzle, a hollow body formed with a large nozzle opening and a small nomle opening. and a valve member slidable in a recess formed in said body :or closing either of said openings selectively, said body being formed with ports so arranged as to provide for leakage flowv of air past substantially the entire'surface of said valve member and between the valve member and the wall of said recess to prevent the accumulation therein of dirt.

rI. In a suction nozzle, a hollow body formed with dissimilar nozzle openings, a valve member movable in a recess formed in said body for regulating flow through said openings, said 'body being formed with ports connectingA said recess with the atmosphere and so arranged as to provide for leakage flow of air past substantially the entire surface of said valve member and through said recess to remove dirt therefrom, one of said ports having an extent at least as great as the total movement of the valve member, and a projection from said valve member extending through said port to the outside of said body.

8. In a suction nozzle, a hollow body formed with two dissimilar nozzle openings, and a valve member slidable in a recess in said' body for selectively closing either of said openings, said valve member having suiicient weight so that due to its inertia the valve member is movable*- relative to said body by suddenly changing the speed of movement of said body, said body being formed with ports so arranged as to provide for leakage flow of air past substantially the entire surface of said valve member and through said recess to prevent the accumulation therein of dirt.

9. In a suction nozzle, a hollow body formed with a large suction opening and a small suction opening, and a plate valve movable in an elongated recess in said body to selectively close either of said openings, said openings communicating with the central part of said recess and said body being formed with ports communicating with each end of said recess to provide for flow of clean atmospheric air past substantially the entire surface of said valve member and through said recess to prevent the accumulation therein of dirt.

i0. In a suction nozzle, a hollow body formed with a large nozzle opening and a small nozzle opening located side byslde in substantially the same plane, an inclined passageway formed in said body and extending over said small nozzle opening, said small nozzle opening communicating with one side of said passageway and said large nozzle opening communicating with the lower end of said passageway, the upper end of said passageway being connectable to a source of suction, and a plate valve slidable in a recess formed in said body, said plate valve being formed with angularly disposed parts each formed with a port and so arranged in said body that in one position the port in one of said parts establishes communication between one of said nozzle openings and said passageway and the other nozzle opening is closed by the other part while in another position the port in said other JACOB ELIEL BARRNER. 

